My Knight In Shining Armor
by anywun
Summary: Ianto has a little chat with Rhys at his wedding. Strong!Ianto. Spoilers: Something Borrowed


_A/N: Strong!Ianto again! Same Ianto from my post-Meat story. Hope you enjoy! _

_A/N2: I'm still kinda new to writing so any reviews would be greatly appreciated. =)_

–_-_

Ianto saw Rhys grab another bottle of beer from the bar and drop himself onto a chair, his eyes fixed on the dance floor.

He turned to see what the groom was staring at so sullenly and was not surprised to see the bride dancing in the arms of her Captain as they stared dreamily into each other's eyes. Ianto rolled his eyes and decided that the new groom was in need of some company. He got one of the bridesmaids to take over the DJ duties before making his way to the maudlin man.

Ianto grabbed an empty chair and walked to the sweetheart table where Rhys was sitting. He didn't want to sit in the bride's chair.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, putting the chair down and sitting in it without waiting for an answer.

"I thought he was gay. You know, with the two of you..." Rhys said, not taking his eyes off the dancing pair.

Ianto let out a small laugh. "He prefers the term omnisexual. Which means he'll shag anything: man, woman, alien, whatever. You name it, he'll do it."

"Good for me, then." Rhys said sarcastically before taking a swig of his beer. "Do you think he's done my wife?"

The question didn't surprise Ianto. It was something he himself had thought about considerably. "Nope, I'm certain he hasn't."

"You know him that well, huh?" Rhys scoffed.

Ianto ignored Rhys's derisive tone. "Nobody really knows Jack, Rhys. But, I know your wife quite well, and I can say with 100% certainty that they haven't shagged." Gwen had been jealous when Owen had started seeing Diane. Ianto could just imagine what she would have done if Jack had gone back to him or flirted with anyone else after sleeping with her. Since her behavior towards him hadn't changed, he'd come to the conclusion that they hadn't slept together.

Rhys whipped his head around and narrowed his eyes at Ianto. "You know my wife quite well? Are you saying you and she..."

Ianto scrunched up his face. "Oh, gods of Lyra, no."

"Okay, okay, no need to look so disgusted." Rhys said indignantly before bursting into laughter.

Ianto laughed, too. "Sorry. She's just not my type."

"Well, that makes one of you. Everyone else seems to be after my wife."

"Not true. I know for a fact that Toshiko isn't interested in Gwen." Ianto said. "And I've seen her staring at quite a few bosoms and lady bums."

Rhys laughed before looking serious again. "Look at the way they're looking at each other. It's like it's their wedding. This was supposed to be my day, Ianto. You know, I heard Gwen's friends talking after Jack stopped the ceremony. Do you know what they said?"

Ianto shook his head. He hadn't heard them, but he had a good idea what they might have been talking about. That made him angry at Jack and Gwen. Not because he was jealous, but because their actions made him feel sorry for Rhys, and he didn't hate anything more than pitying people.

"They were certain than the baby was Jack's from the way she looked at him. Then they said, why in the world would she want me if she can have him.

"Look at them, Ianto. She doesn't look at me that way. She never has. The way he's looking at her, you'd think he was in love with her, too. How am I going to compete with that, Ianto? How?" Rhys was close to tears when he finished his sentence.

Ianto leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Rhys, you need to know something about Jack. Jack Harkness is old. He is really, really old, and nearly everything and everyone wakes a memory in him. Some good, some bad. When it's a good memory, he gets that exact look on his face." He pointed to Jack. "Trust me, I've seen him look at a coral he keeps on his desk that way."

"So, Gwen wakes one of these memories in him?"

"Gwen reminds him of a girl he used to know long, long ago."

"Was he in love with that girl?"

"I don't know if he was in love with her, but he certainly loved her very much. But right now, it's not just the memory of that girl that's making him smile. Gwen's wearing a wedding dress."

Rhys raised his eyebrows and looked slightly disturbed. "Don't tell me he's got a wedding dress fetish."

Ianto chuckled. "Well, if he does, he's going to be the one wearing it. But, no, wedding dresses make him feel quite nostalgic. They remind him of his own wedding."

"Oh. What happened to his wife?"

"She died, not long after the wedding." Ianto said.

There was another bout of silence during which Rhys continued to stare at the dance floor. "Okay, so that explains why Jack is behaving like this, but what about my wife? Jack is her prince charming, her knight in shining armor. He saved her, today. If he hadn't come, the monster would've killed us both."

Ianto sighed. "Gwen, well, there's an inherent naiveté to Gwen, and it's what makes her...well, Gwen. She looks at Jack, and what she sees is the dashing hero that runs in and saves the day. What she doesn't realize is that Jack is a hero to the world, but he'll never, ever be the hero to a single person; because he will never put the well-being of one person above that of the entire world.

"As for the prince charming part, well, a prince charming is not the one who has perfect teeth and wields a sword—or a gun, in Jack's case—but the one who waits for you at home. The one who loves you unconditionally and puts up with all the shit you throw at them.

"A knight in shining armor is the one who holds you when you need them to. He's the one who chases the nightmares away when you wake up screaming, the one who doesn't let you succumb to depression when you're at your lowest point.

"Gwen doesn't see this, yet, but you, Rhys, _you_ are her prince charming. _You_ are her knight in shining armor. And she will see that, eventually. I promise you that."

Rhys smiled at Ianto and rested his hand on top of his and squeezed it gently. "Thank you, Ianto. Everything you said, well, it means a lot to me. You're a good man."

Ianto smiled back. "You are a good man, too, Rhys Williams. But now, I must bid you adieu for I have a Captain who seems to be getting a little too cozy with the bride."

Ianto winked at Rhys before standing up and making his way to the dance floor.

Ianto could feel Jack's eyes following the bride as she walked back to her husband.

"Behave, sir. This is not your night. It's Rhys's. Let him have the spotlight." He whispered in Jack's ear.

The Captain chuckled and leaned closer to his partner. "And what would you do if I don't behave?"

"Well, sir, if you don't behave now, you'll find yourself with a very, very sore heinie in the morning."

"Really, Ianto? You expect me to behave with a threat like that?" Jack whispered in Ianto's ear. Ianto could hear the amusement and arousal in his voice.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, sir." Ianto deadpanned.

Jack looked around the room until he saw Mary Cooper and Brenda Williams watching them with a frown. He winked at them before licking a line up Ianto's neck.

Ianto smirked at the shocked gasps and leaned closer to Jack's ear.

"Oh, Captain. You're so getting the heavy paddle, tonight."


End file.
